Painted Cakes and Paper Hearts
by SarahLia
Summary: On a class trip Ayano and Kyouko have the chance to spend time together, and Ayano takes the opportunity to get closer and confess her feelings. But dreams aren't so simply turned into reality, especially when Ayano struggles to find the right words; and Kyouko doesn't exactly make it easy. Confidence born of first love is a struggle, Ayano is just now coming to understand.
1. Food for Thought

Chapter 1: Food for Thought

 _There's an old saying that one can't eat a painted cake. I don't know when I first heard it, but it wasn't until I was an upperclassman in middle school that I, Sugiura Ayano, fully understood it. Or at least that was when I found my own interpretation of that adage and its meaning as it pertained to me. It was, as they say, a learning experience. But the lesson that came from this wasn't the kind that you learn from your textbooks or in your classes – how to graph functions, the parts of a cell, what emperors ruled during which historical periods. Rather, this was a life lesson that I started to learn shortly after middle school started but didn't entirely grasp until the events of our class trip to Osaka. I suppose that full understanding could have hit me anywhere and at any time. But hey, these things are unpredictable, especially given the other girl involved in all this (that would be Toshino Kyouko, and I'll get to her in a moment). In my case, this was a lesson that impressed itself not in my brain but in my heart. That's an important distinction here. What I learned wasn't something you can write out an analytic essay on or plug into an equation, balance it, and get a hundred on your test. It's inexact and messy just as it's wonderful and beautiful._

 _By the way, even though the proverb doesn't refer to literal, actual cake, in this story there was cake involved in the end. It wasn't painted, and we did eat it. But I'm getting ahead of myself._

 _I'm not always the most social person around, but there are some girls in my life I cherish and treasure. I have my closest friend, Ikeda Chitose. I have my friends who are on the Student Council at school with her and me: the President and the two first-year girls. Then there are the members of the school's so-called Amusement Club who are also my friends: Funami Yui (a hilarious, witty girl), two first-year girls, and finally, Toshino Kyouko. I don't know how to even begin describing her. She's a bundle of exuberance with blue eyes and blond hair. She's laughter and silliness and zaniness. She is also chaos in the form of a teenage girl. And I adore her. I am completely and utterly smitten with her, much as I outwardly (and sometimes inwardly) deny it. If that isn't already clear, it will be._

* * *

Our class trip to Osaka started with a long bus ride. We left very early in the morning. I sat next to Chitose the whole way, sometimes dozing, sometimes chatting with her, and sometimes staring aimlessly out the window. When we finally arrived, it was time for lunch. The cafeteria we ate in had long tables in rows, and I found myself sitting with Chitose, Yui, and Kyouko. There wasn't really anything out of the ordinary about this, except of course that we were in Osaka and not at school. Though the meal was delicious, I had to admit that I was a bit tired of sitting.

"Is everyone as excited as I am?" Kyouko asked, eating the last of her lunch. "We're in Osaka!"

"We are," Chitose said. Her voice was as calm and gentle as always. "It's nice to be here again. I'm excited too."

"You were here over break, weren't you?" I asked her. Chitose nodded at me.

"You could spend weeks here and not see everything," Yui remarked. "And we only have a few days. I guess-hey! Stop that!" Yui finally noticed Kyouko reaching across the table and taking things from her plate.

"I'm still hungry, Yui!" Kyouko whined. "Please, give me some of your food."

"No."

"Ayano!" Kyouko said, looking across the table at me now. "You'll share your food with a growing girl, right?"

"Oh, Toshino Kyouko," I sighed. It was probably pointless to argue. No doubt she'd pester everyone until someone gave in. I figured that it might as well be me. "Pass your dish over this way." I spooned some of my own rice onto it as she did.

"Thank you, Ayano! It's nice to have someone who cares about me so much." Kyouko was clearly getting carried away. She immediately started shoveling rice into her mouth. I was slightly worried she'd choke.

"Y-you should eat more slowly, Toshino Kyouko," I advised her. Kyouko tried to reply, but since her mouth was full of rice, only muffled, garbled sounds came out.

"Just eat and be quiet," Yui said to her. She turned back to Chitose and me. "I guess it's the four of us together for this trip again, right? I know we're sharing a hotel room again."

"That's true. And each of us is also supposed to have a partner," I said, looking at the class itinerary again. "Aside from participating in all the trip activities with each other, you and your partner are supposed to write your trip report together too."

"Ayano, perhaps you and Toshino should be partners," Chitose suggested. At the sound of her name, Kyouko looked up, a few bits of rice stuck to her face.

"W-what?!" I looked up, caught off-guard by this proposal. As my best friend, Chitose meant well, and I knew she wanted to see me happy. But the way she sprung these things on me was a bit much sometimes.

"Yes," Chitose smiled. "I'm certain you two would have a great time together."

"B-but aren't you partnering with Yui, Toshino Kyouko?" As soon as I said that, I regretted it. Chitose had tried to give me an opening, and I went and flubbed it. Stupid. At least she was kind enough to not give me a disapproving look; she knew how difficult this could be for me.

"Am I?" Kyouko asked. Tilting her head, she looked across the table at Yui. I couldn't tell if she was joking or serious. As best friends, I'd have thought they would have already discussed this sort of thing. But this was Toshino Kyouko we were dealing with, after all.

Yui simply shrugged. "By all means, if you want to partner with Ayano, go ahead. Try not to cause her any trouble."

"I wouldn't cause trouble for her any more than I'd cause trouble for you, Yui."

"And that's precisely what she should be wary of." Yui's retort was clever as usual, but she must have known I'd hear that. I was sitting right there next to her. But I guess she did have a point as well.

"What do you say, Ayano?" Kyouko asked, turning to me now. Her blue eyes sparkled merrily. "Want to be trip partners? We'll take on all of Osaka!" She certainly sounded earnest about it.

"R-really?" I knew I needed to pull it together _._ I didn't want to seem too eager or too wishy-washy, but I didn't want to miss my chance either. "Well, if you really want to, then I suppose I have no choice."

"Hooray! We'll have a great time together, Ayano. You just wait and see." Kyouko seemed happy about this new arrangement, but her reaction paled in comparison to the elation I was secretly feeling. She and I would be partners for the trip? And we'd spend the entirety of it with each other? That would make the school trip far more memorable than I had anticipated, more so if I was able to find a way to open up to her. I needed to look for opportunities to do so. I knew that wasn't the purpose of a school trip, but there's no helping these things sometimes. It wasn't as if I asked for that to happen.

Yui leaned over to me. Very quietly, she said "You have no idea what you just volunteered for, Ayano."

"I think it'll be fine," I replied, not raising my voice either. "I'm aware Toshino Kyouko can be a handful, but I can deal with her. What could possibly happen other than her acting the way she normally does?" Ah, how I tempted fate.

Yui just smiled a half-smile and shook her head at me. I would later reflect that she had been right, far more so than even she knew. I had no idea what I was getting into, not just for what would happen that day, but for the rest of the trip and beyond it as well.

* * *

We were walking along on a sidewalk in Osaka on our way to the National Museum of Art, when things unraveled. All it took was one little incident in our path. Our class walked in a well-formed line, two to a row, each girl with her partner. Everything was going smoothly when a cute orange cat suddenly darted in front of Kyouko and me. We weren't the only ones who noticed it; I could hear cries of 'Look at the cat!' and 'How cute!' The cat stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and looked back at us. Kyouko, for whatever reason, decided she needed a picture of this cat and whipped out her phone. The cat, however, had other ideas. It turned and scurried across the road.

"Come back little cat!" Kyouko cried as the orange cat scampered down a side street. She immediately gave chase, yelling something else, and the cat ran even faster. A brief instance of astonishment kept me rooted where I was. Why in the world was she dashing off after a cat? Then I realized she was hurrying well away from our group.

"Toshino Kyouko, wait!" I yelled. Ignoring the amused looks on the faces of my classmates, I ran off after her. She continued on for more than a block before stopping in front of a tall office building. Moving my legs as fast as I could, I sprinted to catch up to her, trying not to collide with any other pedestrians as I did. Finally, I ran up beside her where she had taken out her phone and was pointing it upward. There was a row of trees in front of the building, and the cat she was chasing had apparently climbed up into one. I could see its orange face peeking down at us from the foliage.

"What are you doing?!" I boggled. "That was really unsafe, taking off like that!"

"I'm taking a picture of the cute cat," she replied happily. She turned to me. "Were you worried? There's no reason to be worried."

"There are plenty of reasons! You could have been hit by a car, you could have fallen and hurt yourself, or you could have-"

"You really were worried!" She smiled at me. "You're so sweet, Ayano."

"I…uh…" I was suddenly at a loss for words from hearing her compliment me like that. "Thank you. But…"

"Let's take a picture together! The first picture of Ayano and super tourist Toshino Kyouko-tan in Osaka!" She put her arm around me and pulled me close next to her. A woman in a business suit who probably overheard our whole exchange walked around us, briefly giving us a bemused glance. Kyouko held up her phone in front of her. "Say cheese!"

The camera on her phone made a clicking noise. After Kyouko was finished snapping a picture of the two of us, something else apparently caught her attention. She stuck her arm out. "Ooh, look! An okonomiyaki stand!"

I looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, down the street a bit on the opposite side, there was a little old lady stationed at a food stand. This didn't seem as remarkable to me as it did to Kyouko, however.

"I see it, Toshino Kyouko. But we need to get back to our classmates before we get in trouble or worse. We're supposed to be heading to the museum, remember?" Besides, she could have gotten that back at home. We didn't come all this way just to eat street food.

"Can't appreciate art on an empty stomach!" Kyouko declared. She started off again, this time in the direction of the food vendor.

"But you just had lunch less than an hour ago though. And you ate part of Yui's and part of mine too." I said after her. "Hey, get back here!" Too late. She had started running and was already out of earshot. But even if she had heard me, it's likely that my words wouldn't have done any good anyway. Once Toshino Kyouko had her mind set on acquiring something or doing something, she was unlikely to listen to anything contrary. So I was left standing by myself. I looked over my shoulder up the street and could see the line of our classmates heading in the direction of the museum. I stood like this for a moment or two, debating where I should run after her and risk getting both of us left behind even further or stay put and at least keep myself where I could see our class. I turned back in the direction Kyouko had run off to. Fortunately, she was apparently finished buying food and was running back over to me.

"Look, Ayano!" Kyouko said happily as she returned. "Look at all they give you with okonomiyaki here. Isn't that amazing?"

"Isn't that a bit much?" I frowned at the trio of little plates Kyouko had purchased. I swear this girl was like a bottomless pit when it came to food. "Especially if you're going to eat three?"

"Don't be silly. This one's for you." She held out one of the little paper dishes for me to take, shifting two of them to other hand.

"F-for me?" I was a little surprised. She had gotten food for me? I felt myself blush a little as I accepted it.

"Yes! I hope you like what's on it. If not, we can trade one."

"Thank you." I looked down at the okonomiyaki plate. Though I wasn't really hungry, I had to admit that it smelled heavenly. I didn't want to seem ungrateful for what she had given me, but…

"But we don't have time to eat these, Toshino Kyouko." Out of nowhere, I suddenly felt cross with her. I guess part of that was from trying to mask my embarrassment at the friendliness she had shown me. "Perhaps we can-"

"C'mon Ayano, let's go find someplace to sit and eat these!" Kyouko exclaimed, interrupting me and ignoring what I had said. With her free arm, she pulled me along. I only barely managed to not drop my plate on the ground. We weren't going in the direction of the museum, which concerned me. When we came upon a bench on the sidewalk, Kyouko plopped down and then patted the space next to her. I sat down beside her. I looked off down the street, and I couldn't see our classmates anymore. I wasn't even entirely sure where we were in relation to the museum now. I hoped we weren't lost. I was confident in my sense of direction, but I knew I'd need to get my bearings again soon so that we could find our way back.

"We shouldn't be doing this," I said sternly. "We need to stop messing around and get back to our group."

"We've got plenty of time. I'm certain nobody will notice if we're not there."

"Chitose and Yui have already no doubt noticed." Besides, how could anyone not notice the difference when Toshino Kyouko wasn't present? The overall volume was several levels lower, for one thing. "And I'm certain our teacher will notice."

"But isn't this nice, Ayano?" Kyouko asked as she scarfed down her food. "We can sit outside in this lovely weather, take in the city scenery, and eat food together."

"I suppose, but that's not why I'm here," I insisted, picking at my plate. "I'm only sitting here because you're my trip partner and I need to keep any eye on you." Those words rang hollow even as I said them. I could have very easily gotten up and dragged her back to our school group, scolding her the whole way for the trouble we were no doubt in. But I didn't. I stayed right there, caught up in the wake she left behind her and pretty much letting her do as she pleased. I guess I wanted just the two of us to be together exactly as I had pictured it so often in my head. I wanted to see her smile, hear her laugh, and take in all the inane, silly things that inevitably came out of her mouth. I wanted to bask in this seemingly endless abundance of energy she possessed and the vivacity she exuded. In short, I was sitting on some random bench in Osaka when I was supposed to be elsewhere because what I wanted more than anything else in the world was to be with Toshino Kyouko.

"That should easy," Kyouko replied. "Since I'm right here next to you."

"You were right next to me when you ran off before," I said irritably. I was still conflicted, pulled in two directions. On the one hand, I knew we needed to get back to our class group. On the other, I wanted this moment to go on and on, just Toshino Kyouko and me sitting together by ourselves, the busy city nothing but background noise. The feelings in my heart were stronger than the sense of reason in my head, but it was still the latter that won out when I spoke. "And then you ran off again without warning."

"We're staying put now. We've got food to eat!" She started on her second plate. "Hey, don't look so serious, Ayano."

"I can't help it. Look at what you've done. We're going to be in so much trouble, wandering off on a school trip like this," I moaned. "And me, a member of the Student Council! I'm supposed to be a role model. How can I set a good example for everyone when I'm breaking the rules myself?"

"There's no rule that says you can't have fun."

Truth be told, part of me was having fun, the time of my life even. I was thrilled to be sitting here spending time with Toshino Kyouko like this. But I couldn't simply come out and admit that to her. Besides, every moment that passed lengthened our absence from our class group. That didn't concern Kyouko, but it did concern me.

"Fun is well and good, but the rules are there for a reason. This isn't a trip for us to go off by ourselves like we've done. That's absolutely not allowed," I asserted. Wait, why was I talking about school rules? I can't imagine how boring I must have sounded. Accepting that I was stuck where I was for at least the moment, I tried pivoting to a different topic. "Anyway, Toshino Kyouko, while we're here, I wanted to-"

"Hey, aren't you going to finish your okonomiyaki, Ayano?" Kyouko asked, interrupting me again.

"We did eat lunch only a bit ago," I reminded her. I had only munched a little on what Kyouko had bought me. I wasn't especially hungry, but I was hesitant to get rid of it because it was something she had gotten for me. That raised its value immensely in my eyes. "Maybe I should save it for later."

"It'll probably be a pain to carry around and I don't think they'll let you bring it into the museum."

"You're probably right. Here then." I offered my food to her. If I was going to give it away, I'd rather it was Toshino Kyouko who took it. "Why don't you eat it, then? Please enjoy."

"You're giving it back to me?" she asked, tilting her head. Goodness, she looked so cute doing that. "I got it for you to eat, Ayano."

"I-I can't let food go to waste." That sounded like a plausible excuse to me rather than admit I'd have happily given her almost anything.

"In that case, thank you." As she accepted it from me, our fingers briefly touched. I wondered if she noticed little things like that. I always did.

"You're welcome, Toshino Kyouko. Finish it quickly so we can get back to where we're supposed to be."

"Sure, sure. Ooh, an indirect kiss from Ayano!" Kyouko giggled as she ate my okonomiyaki. I instantly felt my face grow warm. Why did she have to say things like that? Maybe my reactions were so obvious and she enjoyed teasing me. Maybe it was simply her playful personality. I wasn't sure.

"D-Don't be ridiculous."

"Are you blushing? You're all red."

"I am not!" I insisted, though I knew she was correct. How could this girl simultaneously be both so exasperating and so enamoring? Kyouko didn't reply to my denial. She had stuffed more food into her mouth, and it was now too full for her to talk. She just smiled at me and chewed noisily.

"You should eat with your mouth closed, Toshino Kyouko."

"Shorry."

"Just finish up, please, so we can get going." I stared down at the ground, trying to figure out what else to say to her. I had played out so many variations in my head. I had practiced saying them by myself in my room at home. _Toshino Kyouko, I like you. You're special to me. Let's be together, more than friends._ It was simple enough to say those things in my head or when I was by myself. Actually saying them to her was a different matter altogether.

"All done!" Kyouko suddenly declared. I looked back up at her, and sure enough, she was. Good grief, I thought. She didn't eat it; she inhaled it.

"Good," I said. "Now can we please get back to our class group?"

"Aye-aye, ma'am!" she said, giving me a silly salute. "Lead the way!"

I got up and began briskly walking down the street, doing my best to retrace the steps we had taken. I was fairly certain it was the right way. Running would have gotten us there faster, but I didn't want to risk losing Kyouko; given the way she had grabbed on to my uniform's sleeve, she didn't want to lose me either. It's possible she didn't know where it was we needed to go, having run off blindly earlier. I sped up my gait. I was still walking, but at a greatly accelerated pace.

"Slow down!" Kyouko cried behind me. "You're walking so fast!"

"Just keep up," I ordered, while slowing myself just a little. I didn't want her to inadvertently tear my sleeve. "We shouldn't dawdle any more than we already have."

"Wait, Ayano. Here."

"What is it now?" I turned around, even more annoyed with her. We wouldn't even have been in this situation had she not chased that cat in the first place. And she had the nerve to tell me to slow down? I was about to inform her of this when she let go of my sleeve and grabbed my left hand with her right. That stopped me dead in my tracks.

"W-what are you doing, Toshino Kyouko?" It was a question asked more due to the startling her action had caused me than any sort of genuine query. The answer, of course, was obvious: she was holding my hand. Yes, there I was, holding hands with Toshino Kyouko. Her artist's hand, that lovely, skilled, mischief-making hand was wrapped around mine. My annoyance diminished and was replaced by a feeling of delight. She really was holding my hand.

"This way, it's harder for us to get separated," she replied.

"I-I see. Well, um, if that's what only way…"

"By the way, your hand is really cold, Ayano. That's weird because your face is so flushed."

"W-what?!"

"Don't worry about it! Cold hands, warm heart. Right?" She tilted her head again. She still looked so cute doing so. "Say, are you alright? You really do look like you're burning up."

"D-don't be silly. I'm fine." Well, my heart was beating much faster, and I felt light-headed and a little short of breath. But other than that, I was fine. I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Come on, we need to hurry."

I started briskly walking again, this time with Kyouko keeping up. Eventually, that walk turned into a run. There were two purposes to running like we were: one, it got us back faster to where we needed to be. Two, I didn't want Kyouko to think the way I was acting (my pounding heart, my near hyperventilation) was due to her holding my hand. I'd have much rather she thought it was due to us running. We tore right up the street, heading back the way we had come, to rejoin with our class group.

* * *

When Kyouko and I reached the entrance to the National Museum of Art, we were both winded and damp with sweat. It wasn't too hot outside, but when you run like we did, you were bound to sweat. Kyouko's hair was a little disheveled, and mine probably didn't look perfect either. Yui and Chitose were there waiting for us just outside the door. As I had said to Kyouko, our absence hadn't gone unnoticed at all.

"Where were you two?" Yui asked. "Last I saw, Kyouko was running off after that cat and you were running after her. It looks like you're both sweaty, so I'm assuming there was even more running involved."

"We took a side trip, Yui!" Kyouko declared happily. "We went sight-seeing and got okonomiyaki!"

Smirking a little, Yui turned to me with a look that clearly said 'I told you so.' She had been right, true enough, but she didn't have to look so smug about it.

"It sounds like you had fun, Ayano-chan," Chitose said.

"It was more stressful than fun." That was at least mostly true, I figured. "I was worried Toshino Kyouko would get lost and then that the both of us would be in trouble when we eventually did find our way back."

"But we got to do something nobody else in our class did!" Kyouko chirped happily.

"Let's not just announce that, Toshino Kyouko." I felt tired, annoyed, and exhilarated all once. And the trip had only just begun!

Kyouko grabbed my hand again. "Come on Ayano, let's go see the museum exhibits now!" This time it was her pulling me along, as she dragged me through the entrance doors.

"T-Toshino Kyouko, wait!" At least this time, she was going where we were supposed to be going. That was at least a step up from chasing after a cat or running to make an unscheduled food stop.

"They're having fun together, aren't they?" I heard Chitose say behind me.

"They certainly are," Yui chuckled. "Um, your nose is bleeding, in case you weren't aware." I would have assisted Chitose, but with Kyouko's hand gripping mine, I was unable to turn around and help my friend handle yet another of her constant nosebleeds.

"Toshino Kyouko, slow down!" I implored her. "We're leaving behind Chitose and Yui, and you-"

"Ahem," a voice behind us said. "Sugiura. Toshino. May I have a word with the both of you?" We turned around. There was our teacher, looking at us sternly, her arms crossed in front of her. It seemed that my other prediction had come true. We were both in trouble.


	2. Night Owl

_**Author's Note: This is part of two of five for this story.**_

Chapter 2: Night Owl

 _In general, I'm not a superstitious person._

 _Sure, there are the little rituals I follow at New Year's or during summer festivals, but I feel like I do those more out of a sense of tradition than a belief that they'll actually affect something. And when it does seem like they've affected something? That's just a coincidence. You don't objectively change things by simply carrying a little charm or writing what you want on a random of scrap of paper that just gets tossed. It might make you feel better, true, but that's really all._

 _Let me reiterate that I'm not superstitious. Really. But every now and then, I have seriously wondered about some things and whether or not they're just happenstance. It felt once like something happened for me after doing one of these little rituals during my summer break once. And thus I've occasionally wondered if I've written off 'lucky' things too quickly._

* * *

After being disciplined by our teacher, Kyouko and I made our way back through the art gallery in the museum. The lecture the two of us had gotten left me feeling ashamed and exasperated. When we rejoined Yui and Chitose, we browsed through the artwork there with them. As we did, Kyouko laughingly told them of our little exploit into Osaka. Granted, there wasn't much to tell, but that didn't stop her from making something up.

"And then!" Kyouko said, gesturing wildly. "We saw a group of magical girls fighting a giant monster! Of course, we didn't get involved, but-"

"Give it a rest, Kyouko," Yui said. I guess she had tired of Kyouko's incessant silliness for one afternoon. I'd have thought she'd have been more used to it.

"It would have been nice to get okonomiyaki from Osaka. Maybe we should do that before we leave," Chitose said. I was impressed by her ability to completely disregard Kyouko's inane story. Myself, I had been a little caught-up in it, but also feeling disbelief that she was still carrying on. That girl didn't have an 'off' button.

"Let's just move on," I said. Yui and Chitose took off in one direction, while Kyouko and I took off in another. We came to a picture of an owl sitting on a tree branch with a crescent moon behind it. The painting was fittingly titled _Owl and the Crescent Moon_. I was trying to be positive, annoyed as I was. Looking at this picture might have helped. "I really like this painting. It's soothing. What do you think, Toshino Kyouko?"

"Hoot!" Kyouko made an owl-like sound and laughed. I frowned at her. That we had gotten a stern lecture from our teacher didn't seem to have fazed her at all. That we had both be given some extra work because of our little unauthorized adventure didn't seem to bother her either. Maybe she just thought Yui or I would help her with it. That would probably be how things would end up anyway. But at that moment, I wouldn't have helped her. I wasn't in any mood for her nonsense. She didn't seem to catch on to that, however. "Maybe you can be an art model for something like this, Ayano! Can you turn your head around like an owl? Hoot-hoot!"

"Stop acting like an idiot and behave, Toshino Kyouko," I snapped, glaring at her. My words came out more harshly than I intended. I hadn't meant to sound so abrasive. I immediately felt bad for having spoken to her as I did. Oh, why did I keep messing things up like that? This was supposed to be my chance to get closer to her. Now I had taken one step forward and two steps back. I spent so much time thinking about her and me together, before finally realizing that I had to actually _do_ something, not just ruminate on it. And when I did, I moved things in entirely the wrong direction!

"Sorry, Ayano," she said softly. The playful smile had vanished from her face. "I'll be quiet now." Her reaction, of course, made everything even worse for me, and I felt my heart sink. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and tell her that my words had been wrong, that she should go ahead and say and do whatever she wanted. But once something is said, that's it. You can't go back and redo it; you can only try to go forward a different way.

"I…no, I didn't mean it like…" How had I meant it? What exactly had I wanted to say? Whatever it was, I didn't get a chance to say it. Kyouko had walked on to the next painting while I had stood there stammering at empty space. I sighed to myself and followed her. We looked at a few more pieces in silence, until we stopped at one that seemed to have caught Kyouko's attention in particular. Standing in front of this new picture, I looked at the piece in the frame. It was nothing but five rows of hearts, evenly spread out in a square across the white space. Each heart was colored differently. There was a red one, a yellow one, a striped one, and so on. Did someone just feel like painting a bunch of hearts? There was probably some deeper meaning to it that I didn't understand.

"They're actually made of paper, pressed onto the canvas and painted over," Kyouko remarked, her tone even and calm, not sounding like Toshino Kyouko at all. Well, if anyone would know, I figured, she would. I knew this wasn't the usual medium she worked in (that would be manga, of course), but I deferred to her knowledge here. Maybe she had created something similar once.

I nodded at her explanation, not really sure what else to say. Another apology almost reached my lips, but the words sounded shallow in my head. Standing alongside her while looking at this collection of hearts with neither of us saying much of anything? It was suddenly depressing. I didn't want to look at this thing anymore. I instead glanced down at the plaque below the piece. Its title was _Moods of Consciousness_. That struck me as weird. I tried to think of what it might mean, but I wasn't so great at interpreting modern art at the best of times, so trying to do so when something else weighed so heavily on my mind was impossible. I took my trip notebook out of my bag and made a note about this painting. When I worked with Kyouko on our trip report, we could write about it.

"That's pretty!" Turning around, I saw that Yui and Chitose had joined us again. Since Kyouko and I had partnered together for the trip, those two had also paired up. I was relieved to see the both of them, actually. The lull in the flow of talk between Kyouko and me was getting to me, along with my inability to fix it. Maybe with those two around for a bit, things could get moving again. As they stood with us in front of the painting, Chitose admired the rows of hearts. "Don't you think it's pretty, Funami?"

"It's very nice. The title makes no sense to me though." Yui sounded composed and collected, just as she almost always did. Some of us wear our emotions on our sleeves so readily, whether we mean to or not, including me sometimes. Yui, however, isn't one of those people. She's extremely level-headed and also knowledgeable. That she didn't get the painting title either made me feel a little better. She flipped through our guidebook, maybe hoping to find an answer in there. "According to the guide, the artist created this while she was studying overseas in Taiwan."

"Maybe she developed a Taipei personality while there," I suggested. Yui turned her head, snickering into hand. I don't know what it was about what I said, but I guess she appreciated it. Well, at least something went okay. Kyouko just tilted her head at her.

"Ayano-chan, let me show you something else over there," Chitose said, gently tugging on my arm. Turning to Kyouko and Yui, she added "Don't worry, we'll be right back! I just want Ayano to see this."

As I let Chitose pull me along across the gallery floor, I briefly looked back at Kyouko and Yui, still standing in front of the hearts painting. I wondered if they were talking about anything. I briefly looked up at the picture Chitose had led me over to. It didn't seem especially remarkable at first glance. I turned back to my friend. "This is what you wanted me to see, Chitose?"

"Well, you can look at it while we chat," she replied, smiling at me.

"Chat?"

"Yes. I thought you looked like you needed to talk."

"Humph. That isn't the case," I insisted. I turned back to the picture, intent on concentrating on it instead of talking, as I knew exactly what it was Chitose wanted to discuss. The picture was a photograph of a dimly-lit path through a bamboo forest. Now that I examined it closer, I decided that it was pretty. There was a lovely contrast between the green bamboo and brown dirt path that cut right through the middle of the photograph. If only my own way forward had been as clear and obvious as the path in that picture. "I don't need to talk, because there's nothing to talk about."

To try and make that clear, I even wrote something down in my trip notebook about the photo in front of us. However, Chitose saw right through my obvious smokescreen. "Ayano-chan, you don't have to behave like that with me. I can see you're feeling stressed or bothered. Did something happen between you and Toshino?"

I could tell that she wasn't going to let this go. I supposed it would be easier to tell her about what all else had happened. I usually inadvertently confided in her anyway; she could read me like nobody else could and had known about all my feelings for some time. Besides, she helped get me to where I was on this very trip. I looked over at her and took a deep breath. "I was upset about being lectured by our teacher, and I snapped at Toshino Kyouko. I think she took it personally. I didn't mean to come across the way I did." I said this all very quickly, as if that would make saying it out loud easier. As an afterthought, I added "And before you say anything else, I am trying harder. Or at least, I'm trying to try."

"I'm glad you're trying." She removed her glasses and wiped them with a tissue. "Your efforts can still lead to much better things, even if there are hiccups along the way. Ah…"

"But I…hey! I thought we were going to talk." She was staring off into space, her eyes glazed over.

"We are talking. Anyway, you shouldn't be so self-conscious, Ayano," she said, putting her glasses back on. That was easy for her to say. Chitose, from what I had seen, wasn't self-conscious about anything at all, and nothing ever seemed to bother her. "Toshino's an understanding person. And she knows you well. I don't think she'd hold a grudge over one irritated remark."

"Y-you think so?" I thought about what she had said. There were a lot of emotions swirling in me: confusion, hopefulness, irritation. It was a mess. Sure, maybe I brought some of that on myself, but only a little. "I could…oh, it doesn't matter to me! She just needs to behave."

"Of course, Ayano-chan," Chitose smiled at me. "But you wouldn't be thinking on it so much if it really didn't matter to you, would you?"

"Chitose?" All that got me was another gentle smile. I figured our talk had finished. I was last one who spoke, but the final word had been hers. And she was indeed right. We left the bamboo forest photograph and returned to the other side of the gallery. Yui was by herself, looking at a different painting now. I walked up beside her and then asked where Toshino Kyouko was. I hoped she hadn't just run off somewhere again.

"Right after you and Chitose left, she said she had to go to the bathroom," Yui answered. "Don't worry, she should be back shortly. She won't go off on another excursion unless she has a co-conspirator. Probably. What did you two go and see?"

"A bamboo forest," I replied. Kyouko rejoined us while I was describing the photograph to Yui. Upon hearing my description of it, Yui decided that they needed to see it as well. So, the four of us went back over. Since I wasn't alone with Kyouko, I still had no chance to say anything substantial to her. When we later left the museum, she and I were still not making much more than simple, polite conversation. That was better than not speaking at all, but it wasn't where I wanted to be.

Indeed, our entire group seemed to have become a bit subdued. The four of us ate dinner and bathed together, but for the most part, there wasn't much conversation from Kyouko and me. It was mostly Yui and Chitose chatting a bit about Osaka. I wanted to speak with Kyouko alone, but I still couldn't seem to find an opportunity to do so. Chitose would have created one for me, sure, but she was clearly enjoying herself with Yui, and I didn't want to pull her away from that. After listening to them for a bit, I turned to Kyouko and tried making conversation with her. She did seem to perk up some, and I was glad to see it. Maybe she had forgiven me for snapping at her, but I resolved to still apologize the next time she and I conversed alone. That was politeness, of course. Additionally, she and I were trip partners and thus needed to communicate. There weren't other reasons, I half-insisted to myself, even though there were. I had become oddly proficient at holding conflicting views sometimes.

When we got to our hotel room, even the conversation between Yui and Chitose died down. I think this was more due to all of us being worn out. After the lights were turned off, I lied back on the floor, staring at the ceiling. I was tired, sure, but I realized that sleep wasn't going to come so quickly that night. I rolled my head to my right and saw that, next to me, Chitose's eyes were closed and that she was breathing softly and evenly. Well, sleep came easily to some of us, it seemed. I looked back up. Tomorrow, I told myself. Tomorrow, I would make things better. Kyouko and I would get along okay and then maybe something might happen. Or maybe nothing would. It was all well and good to think these things, but nothing would change unless I actually said or did something. I just couldn't quite figure out how. You'd have thought I would have at that point, but there were a bunch factors in the way.

"Hey, Ayano." Kyouko's voice suddenly cut into my thoughts. "Are you asleep?"

I turned onto my left side, facing her. She was lying there in the futon next to mine, looking at me. It was hard to completely make out in the dark, but it looked like there was an uncharacteristically timid expression on her face. I also wasn't used to seeing her without the red ribbon she always wore in her hair. I briefly wondered if we'd be overheard talking. But it appeared as though she and I were the only ones awake. I knew that Chitose was already asleep, and Kyouko's other side, it looked like Yui was as well. "No, Toshino Kyouko. I'm not asleep. What is it?"

"Are you still angry at me? You seemed like you were earlier. But then we talked more at dinner. I just wanted to check."

"No, I'm not angry at you." I wasn't. I had been annoyed. There was no question about that. But even that annoyance had faded. And just like that, I was suddenly handed my chance to say one of the things I wanted to say to her. "Though for a bit, I did wonder if you were angry at me for snapping at you. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to. I was just very frustrated."

"I could never be mad at you, Ayano." Maybe I was reading too much into things, but her reply touched me deeply. "You don't have anything to apologize for anyway. But I think I do. I'm sorry for getting you into trouble today."

"I forgive you. It was quite an experience, but please don't do something like that again, okay?"

In the dark, I could see the corners of her mouth twitch. "Well, maybe not _exactly_ like that…"

She was definitely back to normal. That was the expected response from her. I knew it was pointless to expect her to just change who she was and to behave any way other than the way she always did. I knew very well that you can't change fundamental aspects of your being. No, I might as well have asked the wind to stop blowing. Anyway, even if she did somehow change, then she wouldn't have been the girl I had fallen for. This was what I had signed up for. I smiled at her. "You're hopeless, Toshino Kyouko."

She grinned at me and sat up. I guess she wanted to talk more. As for me, well part of me wanted to roll over and go to sleep and the other wanted nothing more than to stay up and talk to her. The latter part won out. I sat up as well. I told myself I was doing this only because I knew she'd probably pester me until she exhausted herself and went to sleep, but that, of course, wasn't entirely true.

"We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," I reminded her. "We really should be trying to get to sleep."

"Soon, but I'm not tired yet. Ayano," she said, looking aside shyly. "I made something for you. I don't know if it balances out everything that went down today, but…"

She was giving me something again? In spite of myself, I felt my face growing warm again. "Y-You made something for me? That's very kind of you, but you didn't have to do that."

"No, I think I did. I got you into trouble this afternoon. I want to make up for that."

"You already apologized, and I accepted your apology," I replied. It was amazing to me how quickly my attitude had changed from earlier today. Our teacher lecturing us and my frustration with her afterward both seemed like they had happened a long time ago. Kyouko pulled something from under her pillow, but I couldn't quite make it out what it was. She held her closed hand out to me.

"Still," she insisted. "Here, this is for you. Please accept it." She opened her hand, and in it was a little paper owl about the size of my thumb. It was spreading its wings to take flight. "I didn't really have any of my art supplies with me here, so it's just paper."

"Toshino Kyouko…" My face burned. Was she able to see that in the dark? I took the owl from her, held it in my hands and admired it. When had she made this? Was it when I was off looking at the bamboo forest photo with Chitose? Could she have made something that quickly? It was a little bit of paper, folded, with the owl's features drawn on with what looked like a dark ink pen. Like all of her artwork, it was skillfully made, and to me it was incredibly precious. "Thank you very much."

"It matches the painting you liked."

"I see that. It's beautiful."

"You'll need to name it too, Ayano."

"Oh, it doesn't have a name yet?"

"No, it's yours, and I'm sure you'll think of a good one. And remember – that owl is good luck too! Hoot!"

Of course, I thought, owls are considered lucky. And supposedly, white owls brought happiness. I looked at the little owl in my hand. Was it really good luck? I wasn't sure if luck was entirely on my side or not, but maybe Kyouko's little gift gave me another opening. Maybe that was how it brought luck. I decided I may as well try. My heartbeat quickened, as though it immediately knew what I was going to try and say. I hesitantly spoke. "T-Toshino Kyouko?"

"Yes?"

"I had a good time with you today, as crazy as it was."

Kyouko smiled at me. "I had a good time with you too, Ayano. I always do."

"T-that's very sweet of you." My nerves were wracked, and my stomach felt like it was tied in knots. My heart was now beating even faster and harder. _Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump._ I half-thought it would leap out of my chest. I wished I could tell it to calm down. I looked down at the owl and back up at her. "I want us to…um…be closer."

"Closer?"

"Yes. As in…that is to say…" I wasn't sure how to say it without sounding completely sappy. Every line I had practiced in my head, everything I had wanted to say to her had now fled my mind. Did I really have the wherewithal to do this?

Kyouko just tilted her head again. "You mean you want us to spend more time together, just the two of us?"

"T-That too, yes."

"Really? Ooh, I'm glad, Ayano!"

"Y-you are?" Did she really understand what I had been getting at? Well, her reaction made things easier for me.

"Yes! And tomorrow, we'll be together every waking moment! You just wait and see. We'll have a wonderful time together, just like we did today!"

Was she getting carried away again? Was she unclear on what I was saying? Did that matter? I had taken a huge step, and I had done so without making a complete fool of myself. I chuckled nervously. "I'll look forward to it then, since we are trip partners, after all."

"You know Ayano, before you said that, I was thinking that I wanted to spend more time with you too. Even before the school trip, I mean."

"Y-you did?"

"Yes. And then look at what happened!"

I felt a little confused. Did she really do all what she did that day just so we could spend time together? At the time, it had just seemed like the sort of impulsive thing Toshino Kyouko would do. Other questions ran through my mind. Did she just pull me along because I was with her? Did she predict that I would follow her? Did she have some other intention behind that? Was I overthinking all of this again? I couldn't answer any of that, but her words still made me happy. My heart, while still going much faster than normal, had slowed a little.

"I see. Let's not run off away from our class to get food again. There will be many opportunities for us to eat." Was that the wrong thing to say? It had sounded in better in my head. For her part, Kyouko didn't reply and just giggled at me. That was a relief, at least. I lied back down and stretched out, staring up at the ceiling. I felt far happier and lighter than I had been earlier. "It's late. Let's get some rest."

"Ayano, Ayano," Kyouko sang. "We're going to enjoy ourselves tomorrow." This time, I didn't think she was teasing me. She sounded like she was genuinely happy about what the next day would bring. I was too, both about that and us making up over her getting us into trouble and me scolding her. This all portended good things, I hoped. We'd get along; we'd talk and see everything together. Maybe I could be as carefree as she was. Maybe I could build on what I had begun tonight. Maybe, just maybe.

"Go to sleep, Toshino Kyouko," I said to her. We really did need to sleep or else we'd be dead on our feet the next day. And I knew from our itinerary that our schedule was packed.

"But now I'm too excited to sleep!" Kyouko protested. To be fair, so was I. I was doing my best to hide it, but I felt a little giddy. We were getting along even better than I had hoped, and I thought again on how we'd spend the entirety of the next day together. What more could I have asked for, aside from the obvious? I closed my eyes, doing my best to try and fall asleep. I still held the precious little paper owl in my hand.


	3. A Haze of Red

**_Author's note: This is part three of five._**

Chapter 3: A Haze of Red

 _Once there was a woman who spotted what she thought was gold in a pond. She dived in to get it, but came back empty-handed. She tried again and again, but found nothing there each time, even though she could clearly see it. Her sister walked by and looked into the pond as well; she could see that the gold she saw was actually a reflection from a tree overlooking the pond._

 _There are a few ways to interpret that story, but here's mine: Sometimes what we're seeing isn't quite always where we're seeing it. Sometimes it isn't even what we think we're seeing. And sometimes we need someone else to help us see what it is we actually need to see. For me, that person has been Chitose. Sometimes she's good at seeing what I've missed or pointing me in the right direction. But others have done that for me too, for which I'm eternally grateful._

* * *

The following day, there were more trip activities to partake in. When the afternoon rolled around, we were in a large park. It was a beautiful place. Kyouko ran from one place to the next, apparently eager to take in everything. As she did, I was pulled along in her wake. Finally, in a moment of downtime, I was able to briefly chat with Chitose.

"You're enjoying yourself today, Ayano-chan," Chitose smiled at me. "The trouble you mentioned yesterday must be gone."

"Yes and yes," I answered. I was a bit tired, but it had been an exciting day for me. I still hadn't said anything more to Kyouko, but I still resolved to do so before the day was out. We were getting along great, and there was no reason not to.

"Trouble?" Yui raised an eyebrow. She had apparently overheard us. "What are you two on about?"

"Ah, it's nothing, Funami," Chitose smiled. Yui raised an eyebrow at me and said nothing. Awkward. Granted, I would have easily explained it all to Yui, but I couldn't really do so with Kyouko constantly flitting in and out of earshot.

"Ayano, Ayano, Ayano!" Kyouko yelled, running over to me. I was glad for the interruption. "Come on, let's go see what's over there!"

"What over where?" I barely had time to say anything before Kyouko grabbed my hand and pulled me along down a different path, leaving behind an amused-looking Yui and a grinning Chitose. We rushed down the side path until we were ended up at a dead end before some more bushes. A few dozen little red butterflies were flying around them, some flitting on the bushes, some taking off for another part of the garden.

"Ooh, look at the butterflies!" Kyouko exclaimed. She took out her phone to photograph them. I couldn't blame her for that. My only worry was that with her inability to stand still her penchant for making noise, she'd send them all flying off.

"Yes, they're pretty, aren't they?" I replied, looking at them.

"It's like they've all got skin rashes!"

"Huh? What kind of observation is that?!"

"Or maybe they went swimming in red paint." She put her phone back into her pocket and turned to me, grinning.

"You're silly, Toshino Kyouko."

"But that's what makes life fun, Ayano! It's too short to be so serious all the time." She suddenly took hold of my hands. "You understand what I'm saying, right?"

"F-fun?" I stammered. I felt like an idiot.

"Yes, fun! Of all my friends, I think you understand what I mean by 'fun' the best."

"I…uh…" Tongue-tied again. It was annoying.

"You don't have to say anything, Ayano," she said. "I will use my amazing telepathic powers to read your mind."

I thought of the little paper owl she had given me. It was in pocket. Suddenly, my tongue unknotted itself, and I felt a little bold. My heart was beating hard again. _Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump_. But I looked right into her blue eyes and pressed on. "Is that so? Then tell me what I'm thinking, Toshino Kyouko."

"You're thinking that it's so great to be in Osaka with the beautiful and amazing Toshino Kyouko-chan as your trip partner."

I smiled a slightly crooked smiled at her. "You actually aren't far off the mark."

Kyouko tilted her head at me. "Really?" I guess she hadn't expected that reply.

"Yes. I was serious last night when I said that I wanted us to be closer."

"Closer, closer," Kyouko said, chewing on the word. She leaned in, her face very close to mine. "We're pretty close right this moment, but we can get closer, I think."

Part of me felt a little embarrassed, knowing that anyone could have been watching us. A larger part of me didn't want the moment to end. The latter part won out, and I didn't move. I looked fixedly back at her. It was something I knew that I'd remember for a long time. I don't know quite how long we stayed like that, but it actually didn't last as long as it otherwise might have. As Kyouko and I slowly leaned into each other, a loud scream suddenly cut through the air, and I heard Yui yell "Chitose!"

Both of looked over with a start. I knew we had the same thought: concern for Chitose and Yui. We took off running and quickly found both of them a bit down the path from where we had come. Chitose was lying on the ground, and Yui was kneeling next to her. When we reached the pair of them, Yui was helping her sit up. I look down and instantly felt horrified. Chitose had blood down the entire front of her uniform as though someone had thrown a bucket of it at her. Her sleeves had large red splotches on them, and her hands were coated in red. There was a red puddle pooling on the ground near where she was sitting as well. All in all, the amount of blood was staggering. She looked like a victim from a horror movie. Several bystanders, including two other girls in our class, were staring at her, aghast. Unlike us, they probably weren't used to seeing this sort of scene. Chitose took out a tissue and wiped at her nose with it. That was all well and good, but one tissue wasn't going to help the mess that covered her.

"Hello, Ayano-chan," she said airily, looking up at me. "Who knew school trips could be so exciting? Ah, I think I had a little accident."

"I'll say," Yui remarked. She looked both amused and horrorstruck.

"Are you okay, Chitose?" I asked. "That's a lot of blood…"

"I do feel slightly faint."

"Should we get her to a hospital?" one of the girls in our class nervously asked.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you, but I'm okay. Really. I think I just need to get cleaned up," Chitose smiled. That was an understatement. I hoped we had an extra uniform for her to wear. She added "And probably rest some as well."

Our teacher had come running over. When she saw Chitose, a look of shock fell over her face. "Ikeda-san…what happened?"

"Just a nosebleed, sensei."

"That's all?" She looked skeptical. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. It looks worse than it is, really." Chitose stood up and smiled her normal sweet smile. Considering the amount of blood on her, it looked a bit disturbing. "See, it's even stopped bleeding. I think I just need to wash and change clothes."

"Are you certain?" She examined Chitose closely, but saw, just as we did, that she was fine albeit soaked in blood.

"Absolutely. Don't worry, this happens occasionally." I nodded in agreement, as did Yui and Kyouko.

"Alright, then. I'd suggest some rest as well. Funami, you're her trip partner, right? Since she's unhurt, see her back to the hotel so she can get cleaned up and changed."

"Yes, sensei." Yui inclined her head.

"If it's permitted, I'd like to go along too," I said. I couldn't just leave her like that.

"You'll miss part of this afternoon's activities," my teacher replied.

"I'm her friend," I said. "I want to make sure she's okay."

"Yes, I'm her friend too!" Kyouko said.

"Alright, alright, you two may go accompany her, then." our teacher acquiesced. She gave us a pointed look. "But don't go off on your own again."

I sighed in my head. I probably wasn't going to live that down anytime soon. I told her that we wouldn't. Kyouko said nothing.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Kyouko, Yui, and I sat around Chitose as she lied down in our room. She had been able to bathe, change clothes, and drink some water with the three of us doting on her. Well, Yui and I did, at least. Kyouko just acted as she usually did.

"Everyone's so caring," Chitose smiled, closing her eyes. "It's a nice feeling."

"We'll care for you all day and night!" Kyouko said, bouncing up and down. The girl had no medium setting. It was all or nothing for her, usually all.

"Hush," Yui admonished her. She turned back to Chitose. "Just rest easy. We'll make sure at least one of us stays here with you."

"Thank you, Funami…" Her voice drifted as she dozed off.

"Maybe we should give her some space," I suggested.

"Outer space?!" Kyouko boggled.

"Kyouko," Yui said. "You need to be quiet so that she can rest. Use your indoor voice."

"But this is my indoor voice, Yui-nyan!"

"Kyouko…" Yui adopted a slightly more threatening tone. She had apparently had enough of Kyouko's antics.

"Fine. I'm going to go make a phone call." She got up and darted out the room.

"She never changes," Yui sighed. She looked over at Chitose. "At least Chitose is asleep now. I'm impressed that she was able to fall asleep with Kyouko making so much noise."

"Maybe losing that much blood makes you tired?" I really wasn't sure. I had seen Chitose's nosebleeds many times, but I wasn't exactly an expert on all that stuff. But rest probably was the best remedy for her. "I don't know. Nothing on this trip has been like what I expected."

"I bet."

"Maybe I should go see what Toshino Kyouko is up to and ensure she isn't causing more trouble." That sounded like a good excuse to me. I figured some time I would stop thinking like that and just say my honest reasoning behind doing things, but old habits tend to die hard.

"You don't want a break from that? I know you're…" Yui trailed off and seemed to be thinking. Maybe she wasn't sure how to say what she wanted to say. She shrugged a little at me and gave me a somewhat sympathetic look.

"Well, I'm her trip partner, so it's only natural for me to go check." I wasn't sure if Yui really bought all that or not, but she just nodded. I got up from where I was sitting. However, she stopped me before I left the room.

"Ayano?"

"Yes?"

"I saw part of what caused Chitose's nosebleed. I apologize for prying, but…well…did you and Kyouko kiss? That's what I thought I saw, but I wasn't sure."

I felt myself turn red. I should have figured that was what Yui wanted to ask about earlier. I was impressed by how forward she was in bringing it up. "No, we didn't."

"Oh. I guess your chance was cut short." She paused. "Do you think you two are going to start dating, then?"

"I don't know. It's all a little sudden." Just like the previous day, I was a mix of emotions: elation, uncertainty, nervousness. Granted, they were mostly positive, and I was dealing with them better. Maybe talking about it a little with Yui would help even more. Given that Chitose was asleep, it was comforting to have someone I could talk with about this, especially someone as levelheaded as Yui. It was unexpected, but that was okay. "I guess we'll have to discuss a few things, but honestly, I'm not sure what to think about anything right now."

"Okay. Well, here's what I think: you make her very happy. Really."

"H-happy?"

"Yes, happy. When she talks about you sometimes, she just seems different."

"I see." I wasn't sure how to reply to that. It was wonderful to hear, that much was certain.

"A little advice, Ayano: sometimes Kyouko will mask what she really feels by acting like a clown. Granted, she usually acts like a clown." Yui cleared her throat. "Yui, give me rum raisin ice cream! Yui, I'm sleeping over! Yui, let me copy your homework!"

I giggled. She did a pretty good impersonation of Kyouko.

"Anyway," Yui continued. "It'll take some figuring out. But I do think she likes you a lot."

"Is that so?" What was with the sudden unsolicited help? Well, I guess I didn't mind. This was the person who was closest to Kyouko right? I should have welcomed her thoughts and insights. And I did want someone to talk with, after all.

"Yes. And she can be self-centered at times, but there are other sides to her. You bring them out a bit, I think." Yui paused again. "And don't you dare tell her I said any of that."

I smiled at her. No, I couldn't even begin to imagine relaying those things to Kyouko. "My lips are sealed."

"Good. I have one other piece of advice for you. Well, maybe it's more of a warning. I've watched the two of you interact some. If you continue to let Kyouko do whatever she wants, she will do _whatever_ she wants."

I chuckled a little and nodded at her. Yui was right, of course. And I knew she also had a lot of experience with that. I had seen some of it firsthand. "It seems like that would happen regardless."

"Fair point," she conceded. "But that doesn't mean you have to allow her to run roughshod over you all the time."

"I-I don't mind it, usually." Well, I mostly didn't mind. I would have preferred not getting into trouble with our teacher. "That's just who Toshino Kyouko is, right?"

"You really must be in love if you're willing to put up with that," Yui commented dryly. She smiled at me. She looked so different when she smiled. "So why don't you and she go spend some time together now? It'll keep Kyouko occupied so that Chitose can peacefully rest. And you could discuss a few things, as you put it, insomuch as that's possible with her."

"What about you? Chitose's asleep, so it'll pretty much be as though you're by yourself. Won't that be a bit boring?"

Yui shook her head. "If anything, it'll be quieter. I could use some peace and quiet after our earlier excitement. I'll read or watch TV." She paused. "I could work on my trip report, but I'm not sure if I should include this in it or not."

I chuckled again. "Maybe it would be better to leave this out."

"Just as well. I'm not exactly sure how I'd include that anyway."

"Exactly. See you later, Yui. Please message me if you need anything."

"Will do."

I left the room and headed into the hallway. Kyouko was playing on her phone, but put it back into her pocket when she saw me approaching her.

"How's Chitose?" she asked.

"She's fine," I answered. "Just resting."

"Oh, and Yui's watching her?"

I nodded.

"That's good. Yui's reliable and conscientious, just like me."

"She is," I smiled. I decided to not even bother addressing the other part of the statement she made. "So, maybe we should be reliable and conscientious too and work on our trip report, Toshino Kyouko."

"Eh…that doesn't sound like fun." She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "Remember how we talked about fun, Ayano?"

"We can't just have fun all the time, and since we have some unexpected free time, it might be worthwhile to get at least part of it finished."

Kyouko grinned impishly at me. "You know Ayano, we're by ourselves now. We don't have to stay here in the hotel. We could go and see a little more of the city. There's a lot of it out there still to see."

"T-Toshino Kyouko!" Really? Was she going to try and suggest we run off somewhere again? "Remember what our teacher said? And I thought you said we weren't going to run off from our trip group again!"

Kyouko giggled. "We're not with our trip group right now, silly. They're still out and about. And we're stuck here at the hotel, but we don't have to be. We don't have to go far. We can just find someplace close and have fun."

"But we're not supposed to go off on our own again!"

"We don't have to go for long. And just think, we'll get to see another thing or two that nobody else on the trip has gotten to see. It'll be special just to us, Ayano."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "O-okay, Toshino Kyouko. But someplace close! And we can't stay for very long. I'm holding you to that."

And then I couldn't believe what I was saying. Oh well, one's youth only comes once, right? Besides, I figured it would just be for this trip. I could go back to being more responsible at home. And Kyouko's suggestion about something special for just the two of us, well, that got me. I completely fell for it. Kyouko happily set off for the hotel exit, and I followed her. We were almost a block away from the hotel again when she stopped and held out her hand to me.

"Do you want to hold hands, Ayano?" she asked.

I absolutely wanted to. As I took her hand, I almost told her, once again, this was only so that we didn't get separated. That would have been a silly lie, however. I just smiled at feeling my fingers intertwined with hers. We walked a little further from the hotel when she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, look at that place over there!" Kyouko cried, pointing. "That place looks bursting with excitement."

"It's a shopping mall," I said, looking at the sign. It would be fun to see, sure, but I didn't think the stores there would be all that different from the stores back home. Well, I figured we could browse for a little bit and then head back.

"Hey! That part of it has a Ferris wheel on top!"

"Toshino Kyouko, don't make things-oh," I looked up to where she was pointing. Sure enough, I could see a large red Ferris wheel on the top floor of the building How did I miss that? I guess my mind had been elsewhere. "So it does. I see it."

"Right? Let's go ride it!"

"Well, it had better be quick," I said. "And then after that, we head straight back to the hotel. We don't want to get into even more trouble."

"Of course, don't worry!" Those seemed like ominous words to me.

* * *

As it turned out, we didn't really look at much else in the shopping mall. There really wasn't going to be enough time to do all that and ride the Ferris wheel. Kyouko, who of course had wanted to stop and buy food, seemed disappointed when I pointed this out to her. I was worried that my warning wouldn't be heeded, but for once she actually listened to me. So, maybe there was actually a decent chance of us making it back to the hotel without getting in trouble. Yes, I was having a good time with her, but the prospect of more punishment didn't really appeal to me.

While we were waiting in line to board the Ferris wheel, a pair of arms suddenly encircled my waist, and I felt Kyouko press up against me. These actions, while not entirely objectionable to me, caught me off-guard. I wasn't sure it was the appropriate place for them, however. "T-Toshino Kyouko, we're in public with a lot of people around!"

"So?"

"This…uh, this…"

"Ooh, isn't that adorable?" a voice behind me asked. I turned around as best I could with Kyouko grabbing me. Two girls behind us in line were watching us and looking amused. They looked like they were slightly older than us, perhaps in high school. They had on plain clothes, however, not school uniforms.

"The two lovebirds are eager to get on the ride," one of them chuckled. "I hear it's romantic, after all."

"You are correct!" Kyouko answered brightly. "What better place to get all lovey-dovey, right?" She rubbed her nose on my cheek. The two girls laughed at us. The situation seemed to get more embarrassing by the second.

"Toshino Kyouko, please behave yourself!" I said as I attempted to remove her arms from around my waist. Just how embarrassing did she have to act?! Fortunately, it our turn to get into a car on the Ferris wheel, so my humiliation in front of complete strangers came to an end. We got in and sat down across from each other in the little car. But Kyouko apparently didn't care for this seating arrangement. She got up and sat back down next to me, snuggling up to me. I decided I was okay with that. Of all the things I might have expected to happen on the school trip, the situation in which I found myself was fairly low on the list for two reasons. One, I was riding in a Ferris wheel on top of a building. That was something new. Two, I was there alone with Toshino Kyouko. That was mostly new. Kyouko suddenly put her arms around me and embraced me again. I was caught off-guard by this.

"T-Toshino Kyouko, this is…uh…" What was it? Well, it was nice, there was no question. But where did my hands go? I put them over hers.

"Ooh, you're really tense, Ayano," she teased. "Don't worry, it's only you and me here." She giggled.

"I-I guess." She had a point. I needed to calm down, as difficult as that could be for me. I had come this far, so why did I keep reacting as I did?

"It's okay," Kyouko said gently. "Just relax and enjoy the ride." How was she so composed about all this? I took a deep breath and felt slightly more relaxed.

"This is nice, Ayano," she said.

"It is."

"So, are close enough now?"

"What?"

"You said you wanted us to be closer. This is about as close as we can get." Was she teasing me again? Flirting? Being serious? It was hard to tell with her. I recalled what Yui said about her acting silly to mask things. "I like you a lot, Ayano."

"I like you too, Toshino Kyouko," I said quietly.

"You know, I recall you saying something like that once before, but my memory's hazy."

"Well, I'm saying it now." There was no reason to hold back on that point. "I've liked you for a long time."

"I see." Kyouko stroked my hand with hers. "It's good to have that in the open, don't you think?"

"Sure. Toshino Kyouko?"

"Yes?"

"I…um…" I wasn't sure what else to say. Again, all the words and phrases I had practiced had vanished from my mind. I decided to simply try and enjoy myself with her. "Oh, nothing. Let's just admire the scenery."

"Ayano…" she said a sing-song voice.

"Yes?"

"Nothing. I just like saying your name."

As the wheel slowly turned, we suddenly found ourselves at its highest point. Kyouko and I continued to hold each other as we silently looked at the scenery together. It all seemed so far away from where we were and not just physically. I could see small cars and busses moving through the city streets, tiny people walking, and an airplane up in the sky. I could see the hills silhouetted against the horizon. Given how late it had gotten, the sky was tinged slightly red. I don't know if that was the best view one could get of the cityscape, but it had definitely just become my favorite.


	4. Naming Conventions

**_Author's note: This is part four of five._**

Chapter 4: Naming Conventions

 _When you get to know someone better, you find things about them that you didn't know before. And you discover that your earlier impressions might have been inaccurate. Maybe they put one face for the world to see and then discard it in private. Or maybe they only wear one face, but that face turns out to be far more complex that you might realize. Those two might amount to the same thing, really, even if they're objectively different._

 _In getting to know Toshino Kyouko better, I came to see her as more than just the girl I had a crush on, the girl who seemed to want to do nothing more than slack off and pursue her own hobbies and antics instead. Her laziness about her schoolwork aside, I came to really appreciate her passion for her hobbies and her intents with her silliness and pranks and such. That doesn't mean I was willing to put up with anything (though I did put up with quite a bit and still do) – I just came see it all in a slightly different light than I did before._

* * *

The rest of our school trip passed me by in a blur. With Toshino Kyouko at my side, things never slowed down. She didn't do anything halfway, and most girls would have had trouble keeping up with her. I sure did at times. Whatever we saw, she was ready to run around and take it all in as quickly as she could, pulling me along as she did. From shrines to Osaka castle, from shops to meals, our trip became a runaway roller coaster ride. I loved it, of course, as much as I complained about the breakneck pace of things.

On the last evening of our trip, I sat with her as we worked on our trip report. Technically, it wasn't due until after we were back, but she and I had additional work due to our earlier misadventure outside the National Museum. We were to reflect on what we had both done and then write about it and why we wouldn't repeat such actions in the future. Seated next to each other in our hotel room, we worked on writing out just that. Yui and Chitose had gone off to play cards and visit with some other girls in our class. Kyouko had wanted to join them, but with some effort, I convinced her to stay and finish her work instead.

"I think this should be fairly easy," I said as I began writing. "We simply write about the importance of following the rules, why they're in place, and why we should have followed them, especially since we're in an unfamiliar, far-away city."

"And okonomiyaki!" Kyouko declared. "Let's not forget about that! I mean, that made it pretty worthwhile, right?"

Of course. She had gotten food, so why should she have cared that we had gotten in trouble and had been given extra work? I sighed and kept writing. "No, Toshino Kyouko. I think we should leave that part out."

"Fine, fine. But what about the most important part, Ayano?"

How long was she going to keep this up? When would she stop dawdling and work on her assignment? "What's the most important part?"

"That we got to spend time together, just the two of us."

I stopped writing and looked up at her. I don't think that was her original intent when she ran off the first day of the trip, but I was touched by her reply. I smiled at her. "I liked spending time with you too, Toshino Kyouko. Let's try not to get in trouble next time."

"That would be boring, Ayano. Don't worry; with the two of us, I'll make sure that things are never boring!"

"Okay," I said. "But for now, please work on your essay."

"Roger!"

I was left wondering what exactly I had said or done to get actually get her to focus on her work.

* * *

In the morning, we lined up and boarded our busses. It was time to leave.

As we rode the bus home, I stared wistfully out the window, watching the scenery roll by. Next to me, Kyouko was fast asleep. I guess all the excitement and frenzy and non-stop activity had finally caught up to her. It was reassuring to me that even Toshino Kyouko needed to recharge from time to time. I was tired myself, but couldn't fall asleep as easily as she did. I looked over and noticed that, across the aisle from us, Yui and Chitose had both fallen asleep as well. They were leaning against each other with Chitose's head resting on Yui's shoulder. It was an adorable sight to see. I pulled out my phone and made sure to capture a picture of the pair of them sleeping like that. For posterity, of course. How often did opportunities like these come along anyway? I looked at the picture on my phone and smiled happily.

To pass the time, I was skimmed through the rest of the trip photos I had taken. I had gone through half of them (smiling to myself again at a few of Kyouko and me) when my trip partner stirred from her slumber. Kyouko yawned as she woke up. "Good morning, Ayano."

"Good afternoon, Toshino Kyouko."

"Hey," she said, rubbing sleep from her eye. "Why do you always call me by my full name? Just Kyouko is fine, you know."

Why did I always call her that? To be honest, I wasn't sure. That's who she was to me, and she had been that since I had first met her.

"Because you're Toshino Kyouko," I replied as though that explained everything.

"Right, but you don't have to call me that. You can just call me Kyouko. Or Kyo-chan! Or K-Chan! Or…" She rattled off a long list of nicknames. Had she really been called all of those, or was she just making them up?

"Toshino Kyouko works for you," I chuckled. I tried to think of another name for her. "Though I could try…um…."

"Sweetie Ice Cream!" Kyouko suggested.

"What? No! What in the world sort of nickname is that?"

"A cute one! And a pretty sweet one, if I do say so myself. C'mon, try it out!"

"I'm not calling you that." I couldn't believe we were having this conversation.

"Aw." She really sounded disappointed. "But you're just calling me like so many other people do. I wanted something special for just you."

"Toshino Kyouko is special." And she really was too. That statement worked in multiple ways.

"I guess…" There was that disappointment in her voice again. Was she upset? I couldn't quite tell with her. I had finally come so far with where I wanted to be, and I felt like I was messing things up. I needed to think of a better strategy here.

"But," I said, trying to think of what else to say. "I could try just…Kyouko." It sounded weird coming out of my mouth. Had I ever called her just that? Well, there was a first time for everything.

"That works!" she smiled. "Say it again!"

"K-Kyouko." Why was this so awkward for me to say? It was half of what I had always called her!

Kyouko giggled. "I like hearing you say that, Ayano."

"I'll keep that in mind." This was mortifying. It was clearly time for a change of subject. "So, it's hard to believe our trip is over. It just flew by, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but it was memorable though, don't you think?" Kyouko put her hand over mine.

I nodded. That it was. That simple gesture and that moment shared between just her and I was all that I needed to assuage any anxious feelings or lingering embarrassment or whatever. It calmed me and at the same time, made me feel like running and shouting. I smiled at her as the bus rolled on.

* * *

When we were back at school, Kyouko grabbed me by arm while I was preparing to set off for home.

"Ayano," she said. "Why don't you sleep over at my place?"

"S-sleep over at your place?!" I asked. Her invitation caught me off-guard.

"That's what I said, silly," she giggled. "You sound nervous. Why would that make you nervous? I promise there's nothing bad there."

"What about Yui and Chitose?" Wait, why did I say that? Kyouko was right about one thing, I was nervous. Every time I felt calm and okay, things just like to randomly bubble up out of me. Would it continue to be like this?

"What about them?" Kyouko shrugged. "They both have their own things do, I bet. We'll have a sleepover with all four of us another time. This time, it can be just you and me."

"Well, if it's okay…" Sure, I'd need to check with my mother who might wonder what I was doing after several days of not being home, but what was one more day? And tomorrow was her day off, so I'd see her then.

"Of course it's okay!" Should she just have just okayed that without checking with her mom first? Well, maybe that was the way they did things.

"Then I'd love to sleep over," I finally said. That was good, I figured, taking another step.

We set off from the school together, though we needed to stop by my own house first. For one thing, I needed to get some of my own things for staying over at someone's house. And for another, I needed to say hi to my own mother, having not seen her for several. Plus, she could meet Kyouko. Our mothers knew each other a little, so introducing my mother and Kyouko would be logical. Thankfully, Kyouko was not wearing her t-shirt that proclaimed 'I am idiot' in English (something I knew she owned and was proud to wear). That would have made things awkward. From there we set off again, talking and laughing the whole way. I was still a little nervous, but also excited. I was going to a sleepover for just Toshino Kyouko and me.

When we arrived at Kyouko's house, she introduced me to her own mother (who looked quite a bit like her, truth be told), and led me upstairs through a door at the end of a small hallway. I looked around, taking in where I was.

So this was Toshino Kyouko's room? It looked as though a tornado had touched down in it. Clothes were tossed all over the place. There were stacks of manga next to her bed and more next to her desk. Art supplies, pens, papers, and brushes were strewn here and there. Aside from the mess, Kyouko's room did have other things I'd have expected to find there: a poster of Mirakurun hung on the wall, while a matching Mirakurun figure stood on her desk, striking a battle pose. Her Mirakurun outfit hung on the wall near her bed. I knew Mirakurun was her favorite series; in wanting to get closer to Kyouko, I had actually started reading it. That, of course, prepared me to be able to discuss it with her if the topic arose, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for the chaotic clutter in which I'd spend the night with her. Didn't people usually clean before inviting someone over?

"Toshino Kyouko," I said with a frown after my survey was finished. "Your room is a mess. How do you live here?"

Kyouko laughed at my question. "Pretty easily! C'mon, please sit down. Uh, let me make a space for you."

She picked up an armful of clothes and added it to a pile in the corner next to her bed. She sat down and patted the floor. I took the hint and sat down across from her. She grinned at me, and I wondered what else I should say. The nervous feelings returned. What were we supposed to do? Fortunately, Kyouko was kind enough to answer that question for me.

"Let's play Pepper!" she said, producing a deck of cards from nowhere. Maybe it had been hiding under some of the nearby clutter.

"Pepper?" I hadn't heard of that one. "Do you play that with your club?" I knew they spent a lot of time playing games. The Nanamori Middle School Amusement Club seemed more like a social club than an actual school club; still, there were many times I had wished I was with them instead of on the Student Council.

"No, not yet," Kyouko answered, shuffling the cards. "I only just learned the rules to it. This would be my first time playing it with someone else, so I figure, why not play it with somebody special?"

I felt myself blush again. "Thanks. Alright, let's play that. But you'll have to tell me how to play."

"The first rule is that when you lose a round, you have to declare that Toshino Kyouko is the greatest girl who ever lived and when you win a round, you have to list all of Toshino Kyouko's best qualities."

"What kind of rule is that? Don't make things up. Just tell me the real rules."

"It was worth a try. Okay, listen closely…" She began dealing the cards, explaining the rules all the while. Once I felt sure I had them down, we played.

* * *

After hours of playing cards and laughing, I noticed that it had gotten very late. I pointed this out to Kyouko who shrugged, but understood that we'd need to sleep at some point. We both changed into our pajamas. Kyouko, of course, wore the same tomato pajamas that she so loved. And she looked adorable in them. Still sitting on the floor, I watched Kyouko as she reached behind her and pulled the ribbon from her hair.

"I don't wear this when I sleep," Kyouko explained, noticing my gaze.

"I see." That made sense, though it wasn't entirely why I had been watching her.

Kyouko sat back down and leaned very close to me. Suddenly, without offering any explanation, she took her red ribbon and tied it around my head as though it was a bandana. I was too confused by this act to respond and simply sat there stupefied while she did it. When she was done, Kyouko leaned back, put her hand to her mouth, and smiled mischievously.

"Heh, you look funny, Ayano," she snickered.

My words finally found themselves. "What did you do that for, Toshino Kyouko?"

"I thought we could swap hairstyles."

Oh, was that the game we were playing now? The fun never ended. Some advance notice would have been nice, but expecting Toshino Kyouko to be predictable was like expecting the weather to be predictable. Anyway, if we were going to do that, why did she tie around it my head like as she did?

"That's fine but, you don't wear your ribbon like this." I reached back and untied the ribbon. While pulling it off my head, I thought of the time I had accidentally yanked it off of hers. Was this the same one? It seemed like it, but I couldn't be certain. Maybe she had a lot of ribbons that were all the same. I set the ribbon down on the floor next to me then reached back and pulled the rubber hair band from my own hair. Holding it out to her, I said "Here, if we're going to do this, then you can put your hair up in a ponytail."

Kyouko took the hair band and held up two fingers. "Just you wait and see, Ayano. Ponytails look fantastic on everyone's favorite character, Toshino Kyouko!"

She was certainly a character. There was no doubt about that. Of course, that was one of the things I loved about her. Truth be told, I was curious as to how she'd look with it. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen her hair done any other way besides having that red ribbon tied in it, aside from when she had dressed up like Mirakurun. I briefly regarded the ribbon I held in my hand, then reached back and tied it into my own hair. I was pretty certain I did it the same way Toshino Kyouko wore hers. Finished, I looked at her and smiled.

"That looks really cute on you, Ayano!" Kyouko exclaimed. She sprang up and retrieved a hand mirror from her desk. She back down and held it up for me to look into. Sure enough, a purple-haired girl with a red ribbon looked back at me. It really did look okay, I thought. I might have considered wearing a ribbon in my hair more often, but I wasn't sure I wanted Kyouko and me to start matching. That would feel a little silly.

"Thanks," I replied. "Here, hand me the mirror. You can do your hair now, and we can see how you look."

Kyouko handed me the mirror. Quickly, she reached behind her and tied her hair back in a ponytail similar to the one I usually wore. Did she do that often? She seemed experienced at it, at least, though maybe it was from doing her hair different for her cosplay. I held up the mirror for her to see and commented "You look nice too, Toshino Kyouko. It really suits you."

Kyouko grinned at her reflection. "Eheheh."

"So, we both look cute," I said, setting the mirror down on the floor. "What's next, then?"

"Hmmm." Kyouko scratched her chin. "I know! Now we swap everything else."

"Everything else?" I was wary about what direction she was going to take this.

"Yeah!" Kyouko started counting off on her fingers. "Clothes, shoes, hobbies, personalities…"

"This getting silly, Toshino Kyouko." I shook my head while smiling at her. Where did she come up with this stuff? I was briefly reminded of the time when Sakurako, a first-year on the Student Council, had tried to imitate me, though hadn't been a swap per se. This situation was different too, of course. For Toshino Kyouko, it was just another way for her and me to have fun. That was fine. I could go along with her joking, and I liked that she was trying to make me laugh and smile. And I was enjoying myself. That said, it still felt like my role to play the serious one here (not that I could have helped doing otherwise), so I added "We can't switch personalities."

"Sure we can," Kyouko replied. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Ahem. Toshino Kyouko, you didn't hand in your form! Pay attention, because this is important Student Council business! Oh no, Chitose's nose is bleeding! Someone get a tissue. Hey, who ate my pudding?"

"Huh? What was that?!"

"Personality swap," she giggled. "That's you, Ayano."

I felt my face glowing red. I didn't really sound like that, did I? Granted, I was pretty certain I'd said all of those things at one point or another, but still.

"That's not what I'm like!" I protested.

She sat back down. "Sure it is."

"Is that so?" Fine. Two could play this game. A little surprised at my own boldness, I tried imitating her voice, just like I'd heard Yui do. "Ahem. I'm Toshino Kyouko. Look at me eat everything in sight! Let's all dress up like anime characters! Speaking of which, I haven't watched anime all day, time to watch hours and hours of it! Whoops, I watched too much and didn't do my homework _again_. But that's okay. I'll just copy someone else's."

I suddenly stopped, feeling worried that I had gone too far. I hadn't meant for all that to sound as bad as it might have sounded. But Kyouko simply laughed. "You know me really well! You're good at this."

I laughed too. I couldn't help it. Her laughter was contagious. The trepidation I had felt vanished instantly.

"I'm not sure I could handle being you, Toshino Kyouko," I said, catching my breath. Boy, was that the truth.

"In the end, I couldn't be you either," Kyouko replied. "You know why, Ayano? There's only one you."

I felt my heart flutter every time she said something like that to me. "T-thanks. There's only one of you as well, Kyouko." That, of course, was for the best. The world wouldn't have been able to handle more than one Toshino Kyouko.

"So for sleeping," Kyouko said, pivoting to a new topic. "I have a futon I can put on the floor for you…"

"That's fine."

"…but," she continued. "We can work it out so that neither of us has to sleep on the floor."

"How do you figure?"

"We can share my bed! There's room enough for both of us."

"I-I don't know." I wouldn't have minded doing that, but the very idea made me nervous. I felt my face grow warm just thinking about it.

"It's fine!," she insisted. "I've slept in the same bed and the same futon with Yui loads of times."

"I see." That made me a little jealous, even though I knew Kyouko liked me and that there was never anything between her and Yui. Still, my nerves got the better of me. "But really, I'm okay with sleeping down on the floor. You sleep in your bed."

"Oh, fine. I'll make sure to not roll out of my bed and crash into you then."

"Uh…thank you." Was that something she was worried about happening? Maybe she was a restless sleeper in her own bed. I tried to remember if she was like that back when we slept in the hotel for the trip, but couldn't.

Kyouko retrieved a futon and set it up on the floor next to her own bed. It was the standard size for one person, the same kind you'd find pretty much everywhere. It was comfortable though, and while I still felt pretty excited from everything that had happened, I was sure I'd sleep just fine in it. From the door of her bedroom, Kyouko smiled at me.

"I'm turning out the lights now!" she called.

"Okay." Click. In the dark, I heard Kyouko step over me and climb back into her bed. Laying myself back, I began to wonder if sleeping on the floor was really the best idea. The days were comfortable enough lately, but the nights were still cold. And I was definitely feeling that cold. I shivered a little, muttering "Brrr."

"Are you cold, Ayano?" I guess Kyouko had heard me. She sounded concerned.

"A little," I admitted.

"Then we'll fix that!" Kyouko declared. I looked up. I could see her outline as she hopped up out of her bed and got down on the futon next to me. She wriggled under the covers before I had the chance to say anything. Snuggling up against me and grinning, she added "There, together we'll stay warm."

So, Kyouko and I ended up in the same bed regardless. She put an arm around me as though I were a pillow you'd hug while sleeping. As usual, I felt a mix of nerves and exhilaration. My heart was once again beating hard, and I think my breathing sped up. I could make out Kyouko's face slightly in the dark. She looked at me and asked "Something wrong? Still cold?"

"No, I'm okay now," I replied. I could be okay with this, I decided. I just needed to calm myself some. "Really. Thank you."

"Of course! You know, this reminds me a bit of when Akari and I were stranded in the cold and were trying to keep warm. We had to huddle together to keep warm." Kyouko remarked. Akari? I assumed she was one of the girls in the Amusement Club with Toshino Kyouko. Which one was she? I tried to remember who else had been in the Amusement Club room all the times I had gone to see them (well, all the times I had gone there specifically to see Kyouko). There was Yui, of course, and a pink-haired first-year girl whose name was Chinatsu. There was another girl too, I think, but I couldn't quite recall her. Was she Akari? I definitely needed to get to know Toshino Kyouko's friends better, aside from Yui, of course, whom I already knew fairly well.

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't even considered that Kyouko was probably telling me another one of her jokes or absurd stories. I decided to play along some. "How is it you and she were stranded in the cold?"

"There was a broken kotatsu! Everything was going dark, and we almost froze to death," Kyouko replied. "Fortunately, Chinatsu and Yui saved us."

I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but this indeed sounded like another one of Kyouko's inane, nonsensical stories. Humoring her, I replied "Well, that certainly sounds scary. I'm glad you survived."

"Me too!"

We lied there, saying nothing for a bit. I suddenly wondered if I'd even be able to fall asleep. For one thing, I was too excited and happy. Also, my heart was still going pitter-patter very quickly. Could Kyouko feel that? Having her cling to me would make sleeping difficult too, not that I necessarily minded her doing that. I wondered if Kyouko was nervous. Probably not, I decided. Hardly anything ever seemed to bother her.

Finally, as she was fond of doing, Kyouko broke the silence. "Ayano, what do you think we are now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you and me. What do you call us?"

Huh? I had no idea what she was asking. Was this a trick question? Another joke? "We're Sugiura Ayano and Toshino Kyouko. Right?"

"Right. Are we a couple now?"

I finally understood what she was getting at. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure either. That's why I asked you."

I didn't know what to say. I hesitated and nearly hoped for the awkward moment to just pass by. Then I realized that, just like Chitose had done the first day of the trip, Kyouko had given me an opening. And I needed to take it. If I said nothing to her, then nothing would change. I couldn't just wish and hope that someday something would happen. I had taken a lot of steps over the previous few days, and it was time to take one more.

"I see," I replied. Mustering up my courage, I quietly added "I'd really like for us to be a couple."

Kyouko's face was close enough to mine for me to see it light up in the dark. She smiled widely at me and said "Me too, Ayano."


	5. Where We Are

**_Author's note: This is part five of five. Thank you very much for reading along!_**

Chapter 5: Where We Are

 _How many different types of love are there?_

 _There's the warm companionable love between a couple that's been together for a long time, so long that being together is as natural as breathing to them. There's the kindly, platonic love that exists between close friends – the kind I have with Chitose or that Toshino Kyouko has with Yui. Sometimes that overlaps with the kind of love that exists between siblings. I don't have any experience with that myself, though Chitose does. Of course, there's also the intense, romantic love that you see in books, manga, and movies. It's something that works well in stories, but in real life it either seems like a bit much or maybe kind of silly and overly dramatic. I'm sure you could define a lot of other types of love too. It's a big concept._

 _That said, I'm not sure how to define what exactly Kyouko and I had. Nor was I certain where it was going. Love is just as unpredictable as Kyouko herself is, and two unpredictable things put together don't make for something you can easily figure out. All I knew is it felt good and right. And maybe, in the end, that was enough for where we stood._

* * *

Gossip spreads like wildfire at times. Sometimes it just moves in whatever direction it wants, and there's not much you can do about it. The fact that Kyouko and I were dating (or whatever it could be called) seemed to have caught the interest of some of the other girls in our class. I wasn't entirely used to that sort of attention, but there was nothing that I really could have done about it. I couldn't have very well stopped my fellow students from talking to each other. This was all abundantly clear to me when a girl who sat a few rows ahead of me stopped by my desk before class one morning several days after the trip and asked me if it was true that Toshino Kyouko and I were a couple.

"Um, well. Yes." I replied, looking down twirling my fingers around each other. I still couldn't help feeling embarrassed, as happy as I was about Kyouko and me.

"Aw, that's so cute!" my classmate replied, clasping her hands together. "Have you gone on dates? Have you kissed?"

"We…er, that is to say…" I was at a loss for words and unsure how to reply. Did it look bad when a senior member of the Student Council suddenly became tongue-tied? I looked back at the new love of my life, but her head was in her arms on her desk. She was fast asleep. I turned around to face my inquisitive peer again, but still nothing came out of my mouth. How could I have answered those questions anyway? Why would you ask someone you didn't know very well about such personal matters? I gave her a half-smile and a weak chuckle, but all I got in return was a head tilt and a raised eyebrow. Fortunately, Chitose stepped over to my desk and came to my rescue.

"Ah, good morning," Chitose said. "I apologize for interrupting, but I need to discuss some Student Council business with Ayano."

"Of course! Please excuse me." Our classmate walked off to talk with someone else, and I was freed from trying to answer her questions. I wondered if it wouldn't be the last time something like that would happen.

"Good morning, Chitose," I definitely appreciated her timing. "What did you want to discuss?"

"Nothing that can't wait," Chitose chuckled. "You just looked like you were uncomfortable."

"I was. Thank you for stepping in." My gratitude aside, eventually I'd need to learn how to deal with the attention and questions if they were going to continue like that. Or maybe people would get bored with it eventually and move on when something else interesting came up. That would work too. Still, I was grateful to my best friend who had helped come so far and was willing to still help some more. I was fortunate to have her in my life. I wondered how I'd repay for everything she'd done for me. I'd need to think on that some more.

"Of course," she answered. "I'm really happy for you, and I want things to keep going well between you and Toshino. You don't need any added distractions or whatever."

Feeling indebted, I nodded at Chitose. She smiled again and walked away. But rather than return to her desk, she stepped behind me, stopped next to Yui's desk, and began talking with her. I turned and watched the two of them chat amicably, smiling to myself. Ever since they had been trip partners, they had gotten much closer. A bizarre idea briefly crossed my mind: would the two of them…? No, no. I shoved that thought away. Not because I was against it, but because I worried that if I started thinking like that, I'd become as bad Chitose could be about that sort of thing. Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn't. If they did, I'd be happy for them and support them. They'd be cute together after all. And just like that, I was thinking about it again! Clearly, it was time to find something else to occupy my mind. Fortunately, someone was kind enough to step in and pull me out of a weird situation again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kyouko getting up and bounding over to my desk.

"Ayano!" Kyouko threw her arms around my neck. I guess her pre-class nap had reinvigorated her. She'd now be fine until it was time for the nap she'd take during class.

"Hello, Kyouko," I smiled at her, briefly placing my hand over hers. "Sleep well?"

"You bet! Say, did you do the social studies homework?"

"I did." I could already guess where this was headed. With regards to some things, Kyouko was like clockwork. "Why?"

"Will you let me copy yours? I didn't do it."

I had been right. Despite my affection for her, I frowned. "Again? You had all day Sunday as well as the past few nights and you still didn't do it?"

"But there was so much!" Kyouko whined. "I started on it, but I got distracted. Please?"

"I'll help you, but you should do the work yourself. And we don't have that class until the afternoon, so if you spend your breaks and lunch working on the assignment, then you should be able to finish most of it, if not all of it."

"Boo, that's no fun." Kyouko released me and turned around. "I wonder if Yui -"

"No." Behind us, Yui cut Kyouko off with a single word. She must have overheard our conversation. It was probably a request she was used to hearing.

"This is no good!" Kyouko wailed. "Ayano's my girlfriend, Yui's my best friend, but neither of you will let me see your homework!"

"You won't learn the material if you just copy someone else's work," Yui said.

"Well, I won't learn the material either if I'm assigned punishment work on top of the original assignment and then have to focus on that," Kyouko pouted. Her eyes darted back and forth between Yui and me with a sadness that was almost certainly feigned. "Please, won't one of you help this poor girl in trouble?"

"Fine," I said finally. She'd probably keep carrying on until someone gave in anyway. It might as well have been me. I sighed and pulled my social studies work out of my bag. Handing it to Kyouko, I warned her "But you had better copy quickly and return it before this afternoon."

"Thank you, Ayano!" she hugged me. "Don't worry, you'll have it back well before then! I'm super-quick when it comes to copying!" She skipped back to her seat, sat down, and began writing in earnest.

"That's not something you should be proud of," Yui commented. Kyouko either didn't hear her or ignored her. Shaking her head, Yui turned back around in her seat, faced toward the front, and gave me a stern look.

"Ayano, you shouldn't spoil her," she chided me.

As usual, Yui was right. I nodded at her then looked over at Kyouko. Raising my voice just a little, I told her "This is the last time!"

"Don't worry, it will be the last time!" Kyouko said as she briefly looked up from her copying.

"It won't be the last time," Yui remarked dryly. She was probably right. Next to her, Chitose chuckled as she wiped at her nose. Since Kyouko and I had become a couple, I guess my dating life had turned into a full-on romantic comedy for her. I guess that wasn't so bad. I was happy, and she was entertained. That was a small repayment for everything she had done for me.

"You've so little faith in me, Yui-nyan!" Kyouko called back to Yui.

"It's because I know you so well."

"But I'm full of surprises," Kyouko insisted. "And lots of other things too."

"Just finish your copying before I change my mind, Toshino Kyouko," I said. After her earlier begging, one would have thought she'd focus more on that than acting silly.

"Yes ma'am!" Kyouko's pen continued scratching away.

* * *

On Friday after school, I found myself alone in the Student Council meeting room with Kyouko. I had decided to finish up some work that had come up during our class trip. Kyouko, well, she was drawing manga. At one point, I suggested she start on her homework so that we didn't have a repeat of what happened earlier that day. That didn't interest Kyouko, however. She just made a funny face at me and returned to her drawing. I sighed, both internally and externally, and returned to my work.

We worked together in silence for a while, the only noise in the room the flipping of paper and the scratching of pens. Then Kyouko spoke up again. "Say Ayano?"

"Yes, Kyouko?"

"Do you ever want to work on my manga with me? You're talented and smart and good at all sorts of things, so I thought maybe you'd enjoy it. It's something we could do together as, you know, a couple."

I smiled at her. That sounded nice, and, truth be told, it was something I had secretly wanted to do for a long time. "I'd love to, but I don't think I'm as talented an artist as you are."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd do just fine. You just need to do it some. We'll make some practice comics together, how about that?"

"That sounds like fun." I also imagined it was a lot of work, especially for a girl who was so averse to doing work. I was suddenly a little curious. "Do you always do it all by yourself?"

"Sometimes, but Yui, Akari, and Chinatsu have helped me with this before when I've been up against a submission deadline."

I recalled how she once failed an exam because she had been up against such a deadline. I also recalled how she had sold her manga at Comuket. I decided to bring up the former for now. "Are you submitting this to Comuket, then?"

"Not for the one this summer," Kyouko replied. "The deadline for that is long past, and I already submitted some other work for it. This is for the winter Comuket. I figured I'd start in advance."

I wondered if there would be another trip there together for her and me. I hoped so. I never wanted to relive that day from the previous summer, when I had waited all day for her to call and invite me, only for it to not happen. Now that she and I were together, I was sure that wouldn't happen again. The prospect of another day trip with her, well that was something I could look forward to, even if I would end up having to wear another silly anime character costume.

"Well, it's good to plan ahead, I suppose." If only she applied that attitude to her schoolwork. "When exactly will you have to submit it?"

"In the fall."

"That's still months and months away. Why is it you can work on that so far in advance, but you can't do your homework?" I really couldn't believe this girl sometimes.

"Homework's boring," she replied. "Mirakurun is fun. And interesting."

"I guess. But we can't just do fun things all the time, Toshino Kyouko." I decided that when I at least tried to be serious with her, I'd use her full name. Maybe that would drive home my point better. I got up from my chair and walked over to a filing cabinet to file away some of my work.

"We can't? Why not?" Kyouko looked up at me and tilted her head. There was that cute look of hers again. But I wasn't going to be distracted so easily.

"Because there's always going to be work to do," I replied as I placed my work folder neatly in a drawer. It looked like some things in it had been moved around, so I started checking for anything that was out of order, continuing to chat as I did. I briefly turned back to Kyouko. "We can't just spend life doing nothing but leisure activities."

"Boo," Kyouko made a funny face at me, pursing her lips.

I should have expected that, and I realized my reply probably made me sound a bit boring. Turning back to the drawer, I organized the other folders in it and I added "But, there's no reason we can't have fun once our work is all finished."

"You're right, Ayano!"

"Of course, I-"

"Let's have fun right now!"

Oh no, what had I started this time? How had she taken that as invitation to goof off even more? I closed the drawer and turned around to face her. "I said when we're finished. I've still got work to do, Toshino Kyouko."

"Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" she asked me.

I chuckled in spite of myself. "I don't think that's how that saying goes."

"Sure it is. I think you're finished. You've already done a lot today, Ayano." Kyouko got up from her chair. She took a step toward me, smiling widely. "You should stop and take a break. I mean, does anyone on the Student Council work as hard as you do?"

"Everyone works hard," I said. Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Sakurako had a tendency to goof off and not do her tasks. But she did at least try sometimes. I was about to mention that, but stopped myself. All that was beside the point anyway. How in the world had we started discussing this topic? "Ahem. Everyone. The Student Council wouldn't be effective otherwise."

"See?" Kyouko said. "And yet you're the only one here working today. You should have some fun. You deserve it."

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "There's a lot that more that I need-"

Before I had a chance to finish what I was saying, Kyouko put her hands on my shoulder and pressed her lips to mine. In kissing me like this, she had caught me completely off-guard. My first thought, beyond the initial shock that our kiss was indeed happening, was that someone would walk into the Student Council room and see the two of us going at it. The next thought was that I didn't know what to do. Did I close my eyes? Where did my hands go? But then the sheer happiness and joy of being close to her and kissing her took over. Being so close, I could smell the shampoo she must have used in her hair. I could briefly see her blue eyes as close as ever before she closed them. After a short time, Kyouko pulled away, but took hold of my hands with hers and gently stroked my fingers. "That's way more fun than work, don't you think?"

"I…you…" I was too dazed to give her a proper reply. I was elated, but I still could barely believe that she and I had kissed.

"Oh, are you not certain, Ayano? We can try again, and I'm sure you'll be convinced this is better," Kyouko said as she smiled at me. She leaned in and kissed me again. This time I was at least prepared and kissed her back, putting my arms around her as well. If anything, it was sweeter than the first one, and I didn't overthink it so much, though I did want to etch every detail of it permanently into my memory. Well, Kyouko had been right about one thing: I was finished with work for the day. Concentrating on anything else would have been difficult, if not impossible, after all this.

* * *

On Saturday, I found myself strolling through town with Kyouko, Chitose, and Yui, enjoying the warm and sunny weather. Part of me wanted a date with just Kyouko and me, but I knew there'd be many opportunities for that. In the meantime, it was good to spend time with not only the girl I loved, but two good friends as well. That said, it would have been nice to have known where, exactly, our foursome was going. Kyouko had simply led us off, insisting she had found something for all of us to do.

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked as we crossed a street. Hopefully, someone would know the answer. But Yui just shrugged, and Chitose just smiled at me. Neither of them were any help. I looked over at Kyouko and repeated my question.

"You'll see!" she replied. Of course, it was entirely possible that Kyouko herself didn't know where we were going. To Kyouko, that kept things interesting. Spontaneity was a constant of her existence. Or at least, it seemed to be. It was entirely possible that a good portion of her chaos was carefully planned.

As we continued on, I wondered if she had planned the two of us kissing the previous day. Or maybe that had been a spur of the moment act. Maybe it didn't matter too much. The results would have been the same, regardless. I set all those thoughts aside and instead tried to focus on what we might end up on our outing. There was a movie theater nearby, so it was possible that Kyouko would drag all of us to a movie. There was also a game arcade nearby. Neither of those really warranted any secrecy, however. Maybe Kyouko really didn't know what she wanted our group to do and was just leading us around until she saw something that caught her interest. Again, I looked over at Yui and Chitose, but none of this seemed to bother them at all. They were busy chatting away about something else entirely. We walked up one more block when Kyouko put out her arms and halted.

"We're here!" she announced. I looked at where she had stopped us: the Takaoka Cake Café and Bakery. A bright red awning hung over the over the front door, and cakes, pies, and various other pastries decorated the windows. Inside, I could see people sitting at tables and booths. It was just after noon, so I guessed this would be our lunch. It probably wouldn't be a healthy lunch, but it was just for one day.

"Ooh, is this place new?" Chitose asked, studying the a-frame sign on the sidewalk. "It looks nice!"

"It smells nice too," I added. The scent of baked sweets and bread wafted from the place. Just standing outside the door made me hungry.

"Yep!" Kyouko answered happily. "Let's not waste any more time. There's cake to be eaten!"

The four of us headed inside and sat down at a little round table. I looked around. It wasn't too fancy, but already seemed fairly crowded. Hopefully, we wouldn't have to wait too long to eat here. Next to me, Kyouko had taken out a menu and was studying it. Across from me, Chitose was doing the same thing. As the table only had two menus, Yui was looking on with her. So, I leaned over and looked at the menu with Kyouko. There was not only a variety of cakes to choose, but also pies and sandwiches and so on. It was a bakery after all. I might have suggested we get something healthy, but that would have been silly. We had clearly come to this place to try the cake, after all.

"What kind of cake should we get?" Chitose asked.

"If I may offer a suggestion, let's skip the chocolate," I answered her. Yui nodded in agreement.

"I don't know," Kyouko said. "If she really wanted to try it, we could-"

"No." Both Yui and I said it at the exact same time. Great minds do indeed think alike, I thought. Kyouko giggled at us and looked back at the menu.

"That's fine, really," Chitose said. "There are lots of other things to choose from. We could get the sampler. That way, everyone gets something they like and can try different things as well."

"That's a good idea," Yui said. "And a thoughtful one too."

Kyouko and I agreed as well, and that was what we ended up ordering. After we ordered, the waitress brought us a platter with eight different pieces of cake on it. That worked – there'd be two for each of us and presumably no squabbling. We weren't little kids, after all. We each took our pieces and dug in.

"I ate at a place like this once in Osaka when I was very little. I didn't have chocolate cake there either." Chitose commented, eating some carrot cake. Given what she was like when she ate chocolate, that was definitely a good thing. We didn't need a scene in public. I wanted to make sure we'd be able to eat at this place again in the future.

"Ooh, really?" Kyouko looked up at her, cake frosting and crumbs all over her mouth. "Was it nice? Let's take a trip to Osaka and try it out too!"

"We just went to Osaka," Yui pointed out. "Have you forgotten about that already?"

"Maybe I have," Kyouko mused. "Wait. What if I'm suffering from a rare sort of amnesia?!"

More jokes. It seemed to me that Kyouko's approach was to toss out as many jokes as she could and hope that some of them landed well. I had to admit that she occasionally got off a few good ones. And I had become better at playing off of her now. I replied "Given how much you forget your homework, I wouldn't be surprised if that's actually true."

Kyouko apparently liked that one. She gasped dramatically. "You're right! I do have amnesia. Who are all of you anyway? And who am I?"

"You're Kyouko," I replied. "And that's all I need. But you also forgot to wipe your face." Next to me, Yui smirked.

"You two really do get along so well," Chitose remarked. "I always figured you would."

"I agree," Yui said. "And now Ayano can put up with you. It's a refreshing change of pace."

"What do you mean 'put up with', Yui-nyan?" Kyouko asked innocently, though I was sure she knew exactly what Yui meant.

"Exactly what I said, Kyouko. Anyway, Ayano's right. You need to wipe your face."

"And maybe eat more slowly," I added. "You'll choke if you keep cramming cake into your mouth like that."

"Wow, unsolicited advice from both sides," Kyouko said. "It's like having two of Yui. Or is it like having two of Ayano? Hmmm."

"Either way, you probably still won't listen," Yui said.

"Sorry Yui, what did you say?" Kyouko asked. I laughed. I had to admit that one had been well-timed.

"I guess some things won't ever change," I said. And maybe that wasn't so bad. Kyouko will always keep things interesting.

"We should go out more often though," Yui said. "The four of us, just like this. It's nice."

"There's a Cambodian restaurant that recently opened," I suggested. "We could go there next weekend or whenever works for everyone."

Yui turned to me, looking interested. "I've never had Cambodian food. Is it good?"

"Really good!" I answered her. "Phnomenhal, even!"

Yui turned away and snickered, her hands covering her face. I guess she liked my answer. Or maybe the prospect of having Cambodian food got her that excited. I made a mental note to check our calendar and set up another group outing. Again, I'd have liked a date with just Kyouko and me, but I enjoyed spending time with Chitose and Yui too. It didn't have to be just the two of us all the time.

Chitose seemed to like my reply also. She patted Yui on the shoulder, chuckling as she did. Well, the two of them were certainly having fun. And it was good that someone made sure that Yui didn't choke on cake, though she didn't shovel it into her mouth at the rate Kyouko did.

"But Yui," Kyouko said. "We could go and eat Korean barbeque instead. Don't you think that's better for the Seoul?" I wondered how long she had been keeping that one in her head. Or maybe she thought it up on the fly?

Yui turned back around and looked at Kyouko. She was no longer snickering and just frowned at her best friend. I had thought Kyouko's line was cute, but Yui was apparently of a different mind. Kyouko scratched her head. "I guess I can't quite make jokes like Ayano can. There's nobody like her."

"Thank goodness for that." I replied. I started laughing, and the other three girls joined in as well.


End file.
